Land Systems OMC is a South African company that produces a range of armoured vehicles which have been successfully exported and are in service with, amongst others, the U.S., Canadian and South African militaries. It is a division of Denel SOC LTD, located in Benoni, Gauteng. The OMC segment of the name is the

initialism An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...

under which the Olifant Manufacturing Co. of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

was most commonly known during its existence. The original company was established specifically for the task of creating the

Olifant tank The Centurion was the primary British Army main battle tank of the post-World War II period. Introduced in 1945, it is widely considered to be one of the most successful post-war tank designs, remaining in production into the 1960s, and seeing ...

for the

South African Army The South African Army is the principal land warfare force of South Africa, a part of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), along with the South African Air Force, South African Navy and South African Military Health Service. ...

Ownership

Reunert

OMC's existence as an independent company was short-lived however, and early into its life it was taken over by Reunert, which subsequently turned it into a division called Reumech OMC. It was under this name that OMC saw its most prolific level of vehicle development, as combat operations during the

Angolan Bush War The South African Border War, also known as the Namibian War of Independence, and sometimes denoted in South Africa as the Angolan Bush War, was a largely asymmetric conflict that occurred in Namibia (then South West Africa), Zambia, and Angol ...

necessitated a greater need for vehicle systems capable of being integrated with the very swift, flexible, operational style of the South African Defence Force. In 1997, Reunert inherited TFM Industries and its respective designs. Vehicles manufactured by the company during this period include the

Rooikat The Rooikat (Afrikaans for "Caracal"; ) is a South African armoured reconnaissance vehicle equipped with a stabilised 76 mm high velocity gun for organic anti-tank and fire support purposes. The Rooikat's main armament was built with the ...

and

Eland Eland may refer to: Animals *''Taurotragus'', a genus of antelope ** Common eland of East and Southern Africa ** Giant eland of Central and Western Africa Places * Eland, Wisconsin, United States * An old spelling of Elland, West Yorkshire * Ela ...

armoured cars and the 6x6 chassis used by the

G6 howitzer The G6, sometimes denoted as the G6 ''Rhino'', is a South African mine-protected self-propelled howitzer. It was developed as a turreted, self-propelled variant of the G5 howitzer series, mating the gun to a six-wheeled armoured chassis. Desig ...

, in addition to South Africa's highly successful Okapi,

Mamba Mambas are fast moving highly venomous snakes of the genus ''Dendroaspis'' (which literally means "tree Asp (reptile), asp") in the family Elapidae. Four Neontology, extant species are recognised currently; three of those four species are essen ...

, and Casspir MRAP

armoured personnel carrier An armoured personnel carrier (APC) is a broad type of armoured military vehicle designed to transport personnel and equipment in combat zones. Since World War I, APCs have become a very common piece of military equipment around the world. Acc ...

Vickers

Following South Africa's re admittance to the international arena following democratic elections in 1994, a number of foreign defence industry companies expressed significant interest in purchasing the company. Eventually it was Britain's Vickers plc that won, purchasing the company and renaming it Vickers OMC.

Alvis

This continued until

Alvis Alvis may refer to: *Alvis Car and Engineering Company, British luxury car and military vehicle manufacturer which later became Alvis plc * Alvis plc (formerly United Scientific Holdings plc), a defence contractor which acquired Alvis Cars and bec ...

, also of Britain, purchased Vickers' defence division, including OMC. Continuing with tradition, Alvis renamed the company to Alvis OMC.

BAE Systems

In 2004, BAE Systems purchased the military vehicle division of Alvis. OMC then became part of BAE Systems' Land Systems, again undergoing a name change to Land Systems OMC and later to BAE Systems Land Systems South Africa.

Denel SOC LTD

In April 2015, state-owned defence conglomerate Denel completed the acquisition of Land Systems South Africa (LSSA) from

BAE Systems BAE Systems plc (BAE) is a British multinational arms, security, and aerospace company based in London, England. It is the largest defence contractor in Europe, and ranked the seventh-largest in the world based on applicable 2021 revenues. ...

and DGD Technologies. Denel took over BAE's 75% stake for R641 million ($53 million). Full ownership cost Denel R855 million as the purchase included DGD Technologies' 25% share.

Vehicles

Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC)

OMC vehicles were developed for and successfully deployed in

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and

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

during the South African Border War. This harsh environment demanded good mobility as well as protection against

anti-tank mine An anti-tank mine (abbreviated to "AT mine") is a type of land mine designed to damage or destroy vehicles including tanks and armored fighting vehicles. Compared to anti-personnel mines, anti-tank mines typically have a much larger explosive c ...

s. The Casspir APC pioneered technology such as specially welded and shaped hulls to provide protection against mines. OMC's modern armoured personnel carriers are popular with most international peace keeping forces, because of the level of mine-protection offered as well as the ease of maintenance and manoeuvrability of wheeled APCs. Countries and organizations using these vehicles include

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

and Blackwater Security amongst others. * Casspir, 4x4 wheeled APC, first version introduced in the 1980s. *

, 4x4 wheeled APC, crew of 12. *

RG-12 The RG-12 (nicknamed 'Nyala') is a multi-purpose armoured personnel carrier with anti-personnel mine, grenade, fire bomb and small arms fire protection that is manufactured by Land Systems OMC (a business unit of BAE Systems) of South Africa ...

, aimed at riot control, 4 wheel drive, crew of 12. * RG-31 Nyala, 4x4 wheeled APC, crew of 10 (driver + nine). *

RG-32 Scout The RG-32 Scout is a family of mine-resistant 4×4 light armoured vehicles made by BAE Systems Land Systems South Africa (formerly Land Systems OMC) in South Africa. It is based on the RG-31, which is already deployed worldwide with peace-keeping, ...

, 4x4 wheeled APC, crew of 5. *

RG Outrider The RG Outrider, also known by its original designation RG-32M Light Tactical Vehicle (LTV), is a 4x4 multi-purpose mine-protected armoured personnel carrier (APC) manufactured by BAE Systems of South Africa. It was first introduced in early 2009 ...

, 4x4 wheeled APC, crew of 4. *

RG-33 The RG-33 is a mine-resistant light armored vehicle initially designed by BAE Systems Land Systems South Africa (formerly Land Systems OMC), a South African subsidiary of BAE Systems. BAE Systems in the US extensively modified it with additiona ...

, 4x4 or 6x6 wheeled APC. * Pinzgauer 4x4 and 6x6 all terrain vehicles *

iKlwa An assegai or assagai (Arabic ''az-zaġāyah'', Berber ''zaġāya'' "spear", Old French ''azagaie'', Spanish ''azagaya'', Italian ''zagaglia'', Middle English ''lancegay'') is a pole weapon used for throwing, usually a light spear or javelin m ...

, modernised version of the Ratel

infantry fighting vehicle An infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), also known as a mechanized infantry combat vehicle (MICV), is a type of armoured fighting vehicle used to carry infantry into battle and provide direct-fire support. The 1990 Treaty on Conventional Armed Forc ...

Rapid deployment vehicle

* Wasp rapid deployment vehicle, air deployable light 4x4 vehicle for airborne and special forces.

Armoured fighting vehicle (AFV)

, 8 wheeled AFV armed with a 76 mm gun (In service with the SA Army) a version with a 105 mm gun is also available.

Self-propelled howitzer

G6 Howitzer The G6, sometimes denoted as the G6 ''Rhino'', is a South African mine-protected self-propelled howitzer. It was developed as a turreted, self-propelled variant of the G5 howitzer series, mating the gun to a six-wheeled armoured chassis. Desig ...

, 6 wheeled 155 mm

self-propelled artillery Self-propelled artillery (also called locomotive artillery) is artillery equipped with its own propulsion system to move toward its firing position. Within the terminology are the self-propelled gun, self-propelled howitzer, self-propelled mo ...

, Land Systems OMC makes the base vehicle while the gun and turret is built by Denel Land Systems.

References

External links

Wasp
"Rapid Deployment Reconnaissance Vehicle".
Badger IFV
(Will produce 264 locally modified Patria AMVs under licence)
Official site

iKlwa
{{automotive industry in South Africa Defence companies of South Africa Denel Economy of Ekurhuleni Military vehicle manufacturers